A campaign to put sports betting on the California ballot has hit the skids without gathering a single signature of support, but Russel Lowery — consultant for the group Californians for Sports Betting — told LegalSportsReport this week he believed he had at least “started a conversation” in the Golden State.

Californians for Sports Betting aimed to force the question onto the 2020 ballot — letting voters decide on an issue that was unlikely to be resolved quickly in the legislature, largely due to resistance from most, but not all, of the state’s powerful tribal casino operators.